Wednesday, April 21, 2010

History of Photography

WhatHistory of Photography

WhereFrance and America

WhenThe first permanent photograph was developed in by Joseph Nicephore Niepce in 1826. In 1841, Fox Talbot created a process known as calotype. This process created a sort of negative, which allowed an image to be reproduced. In 1884, George Eastman, of Rochestr NY, developed what we know as "film". This replaced the photographic plates previously used, and progressed film towards a more consumer industry. In 1901 the Kodak Brownie was released to mass market, making it available to everyone.

HowOriginally in photography, photos were produced on polished pewter plates using a chemical called bitumen. Later Niepce, along with his partner Louis Daguerre, refined the process of mixing silver and chalk into what is known as the silver process. When Talbot came around, he coated sheets of paper with silver chloride, which would create the first negative images. Later, when Eastmen created what we know as "film", he eliminated the need to carry around toxic chemicals and heavy plates to create photos. This allowed the every day person to take photos, and then have them developed by someone else, opening the realm of photography to everyone.